Face contact coaxial connector



United States Patent 3,486,161 FACE CONTACT COAXIAL CONNECTOR Alexander Kraus, Munich, and Horst Sonnberger, Ottobrunn, Germany, assiguors to Rohde & Schwarz, a corporation of Germany Filed Jan. 31, 1968, Ser. No. 701,894 Claims priority, applicatiogggrmany, Feb. 14, 1967, 4 Int. Cl. H01r 25/02 U.S. Cl. 339-48 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Face contact coaxial connector in which the two halves of the connector are similar and the inner and outer contacts complete a circuit by face contact of the contacts. The inner coaxial contact of each half of the connector is in the form of a contact pin having outer flat contact face and biased outwardl with respect to the outer end of the outer contact of the connector by a spring of a larger diameter than the diameter of the contact pin. The contact pin is mounted in a dielectric support slidably carried by the casing part of the connector.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Face contact connectors have heretofore been in use in which the electrical connection is attained by the mu tual pressing together of the plane contact faces of inner and outer coaxial contact members of each half of the connector. In such face contact connectors, an inner conductor pin has been mounted in a dielectric support, which iiarigidly mounted in an outer contact sleeve. The pin has been a fixed pin and has had a conductor sleeve slidably mounted thereon and urged by a spring in a direction to make contact. With connectors of this type, the inner conductor pin must be very small because of the required characteristic impedance value. As for example in a connector having an outer diameter of 7 mm., the outer diameter of the inner conductor required to give a 75 ohm impedance is 2 mm. With such a small conductor it is not possible to mount a spring of the required strength within the conductor sleeve, which will bias the sleeve with respect to the outer conductor and still maintain the best possible strength characteristics for the inner conductor and for its mounting within the outer conductor.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION AND OBJECTS The present invention remedies the deficiencies heretofore present in face contact conductors by so arranging the connector that the inner conductor pin can be spring biased to make face contact with an associated pin of a mating connector half regardless of the diameter of the inner conductor, without impairing the strength characteristics of the conductor pin.

A principal object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a simplified form of face contact coaxial connector, so arranged as to enable the use of a relatively large diameter spring, independent of the diameter of the inner conductor pin, to bias the inner conductor pin outwardly of the coaxial outer conductor, to maintain efficient electrical contact with a corresponding inner conductor in of a mating connector half.

Another object of the invention is to improve upon the face contact coaxial connectors heretofore in use, by providing an inner conductor pin having a plane outer face axially fixed in a dielectric support, mounted within the inner conductor for axial movement with respect thereto, and spring biased to urge the plane face of the conductor pin into contact engagement with the conductor pin of a coupled mating connector half.

3,486,161 Patented Dec. 23, 1969 ice A still further object of the invention is to provide a face contact coaxial connector having an inner conductor pin fixed to a dielectric support, guided within an outer conductor for axial movement therealong, in which the biasing means for the conductor pin is a coned disk spring, biasing the dielectric support and conductor pin in an extended contact making position.

These and other objects of the invention will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to the figure of the drawing, showing a diagrammatic cross-sectional view taken through one-half of a face contact coaxial connector, constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

In the embodiment of the invention diagrammatically illustrated in the drawing, the figure of the drawing diagrammatically shows one-half of a face contact coaxial connector adapted to be connected to another half of a coaxial connector, to complete an electrical circuit between an inner conductor 10 and an outer conductor 11 of an associated coaxial cable. As shown in the drawing, the inner conductor 10 is insulated from the coaxial outer conductor 11 by suitable insulating material, and has a reduced diameter terminal end portion 12 extending within a head 13 of an inner conductor member 15, and soldered or otherwise bonded to said head. The inner conductor member 15 has a reduced diameter portion 16, extend ing through a stationary dielectric support 17.

The dielectric support 17 is recessed within an enlarged diameter interior end portion of the outer conductor 11 in abutting engagement with an annular shouldered portion 11 of said outer conductor. The dielectric support 17 is retained in position by a coupling sleeve 18 threaded on the conductor 11 and having an intermediate shouldered portion 22 abutting the outer end of said dielectric support 17. The support 17 also has a reduced diameter inner end portion 19 extending along the insulation for the inner conductor 10 and abutting the outer end of the enlarged diameter head 13.

The opposite end of the inner conductor member 15 from the head 13 has an enlarged diameter contact head 20 abutting at its inner side a collar 21 formed integrally with the dielectric support 17, and having a frustoconical outer end portion 23. The contact head 20 forms a slidable current conducting connection for a cup-like contact member 25 formed integrally with a conductor pin 26, and slidably extending about said head. The conductor pin 26 extends along the center of and is fixed to a dielectric support 27, for axial movement therewith.

The opposite end of the coupling sleeve 18 from the dielectric support 17, is counterbored and threaded to receive a threaded sleeve portion 31 of a retainer member 32. The sleeve portion 31 has a reduced diameter inner end portion 33 spaced from a shoulder 35 at the inner end of the counterbored portion of the coupling sleeve 18. The retainer member 32 also has a shouldered portion 36 at the termination of the retainer member 32 with the sleeve-like portion 31, and determining the outer limits of movement of the conductor pin 26. A spring 37, shown as being a coned disk spring, known to the trade as a Bellville spring, is seated on the shoulder 35 and engages the inner face of the axially movable dielectric support 27. The spring 37 therefore biases the dielectric support 27 into engagement with the shoulder 36 and biases a plane contact face 39 at the outer end of an enlarged diameter portion 40 of the conductor pin 26, in advance of an outer face 41 of the retainer member 32, which outer face forms the contact face of an outer conductor part of the connector.

A coupling ring 42 encircles the retainer member 32 and is provided to couple the two halves of the connector together and to draw the plane outer face 41 of the retainer member 32 into firm current conducting engagement with the plane outer face of a mating connector half. The coupling ring 42 is of a conventional form and has a pair of lugs 43 extending along keyways 44 extending axially along the retainer member 32. The coupling ring 42 is slidable along the retainer member 32 and along corresponding keyways in a similar retainer member of the next adjacent coupling half, and is turnable along threads of the next adjacent coupling half to bring an inwardly extending radial flange 44 of the coupling ring 42 into engagement with a rear shouldered face 45 of the retainer member 32. The lugs 43 are then turned along threads (not shown) in the retainer member for the next adjacent coupling half, to bring the end faces 41 of the retainer members 32 of each coupling half into firm engagement with each other. Similar threads (not shown) are provided in the periphery of the retainer member 32 of each coupling half, and each coupling half usually carries a separate coupling ring, so either coupling ring may be used to couple the coupling halves together.

It may here be seen that by the connector of the present invention, the usual small diameter coil spring connected between the inner conductor pin and the conventional sleeve extending thereabout has been eliminated, and that instead a coned diskspring of a relatively large diameter, taking very little axial space, is seated on the shoulder of the connector sleeve 18 and engages the dielectric support 27, to bias the conductor pin 26 outwardly, entirely free from the conductor pin 26. This enables the conductor pin to be of a relatively small diameter and still be stable and resistant to bending or breakage, and provides sufiicient biasing force on the conductor pin to make a good electrical contact between the faces of two mating conductor pins when the two halves of the connector are connected together.

It may further be seen that the connector is of a simple and inexpensive construction and that the sliding contact 25 between the conductor pin 26 and the contact head of the conductor pin 15 is in a protected region behind the dielectric support 27, and is accordingly protected from mechanical damage and dirt. This provides reliable contact between the conductor pins 15 and 26 even under the most unfavorable conditions, and materially simplifies the mounting of the coaxial cable on the connector and the connection of the adjacent connector halves together.

While we have herein shown and described one form in which the invention may be embodied, it may readily be understood that various variations and modifications in the invention may be attained without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts thereof.

We claim as our invention:

1. A face contact coaxial connector comprising,

an outer conductor,

a coaxial inner conductor,

said outer conductor having a counterbore,

a dielectric support guided in said counterbore for limited axial movement therealong,

an inner conductor pin carried by said dielectric support and having current conducting contact with said inner conductor and being axially movable with respect thereto,

and means contained in said counterbore and resiliently biasing said inner conductor pin outwardly with respect to the front face of said outer conductor, to have face contact with an aligned conductor of a companion coupling half, and to be resiliently displaced inwardly of said counterbore, upon coupling said connector to-the companion connector half.

2. A face contact coaxial connector in accordance with claim 1, wherein the means contained in the counterbore and resiliently yieldably biasing the inner conductor pin is a coned disk spring seated in said counterbore and engaging said dielectric support.

3. A face contact coaxial connector according to claim 1, I

wherein the guiding connection for said dielectric support in said counterbore comprises, a sleeve extending within and along said counterbore for a portion of the lentgh thereof and having an enlarged diameter retainer member on its outer end, the front face of which forms an outer contact, and also having a shoulder, limiting outward movement of said dielectric support,

wherein spring means seated in said counterbore has operative engagement with said dielectric support and biases said inner conductor pin to have face contact with a corresponding conductor pin of an axially aligned coaxial connector coupling half.

4. A face contact coaxial connector in accordance with claim 3, wherein the spring means is a coned disk spring seated between said counterbore and said dielectric support. I

5. A face contact coaxial connector 1n accordance w1th claim 1,

wherein the current conducting contact between said inner conductor pin and said inner conductor comprises an axially fixed inner conductor member having an enlarged diameter head,

wherein a dielectric support is provided for said fixed inner conductor member, inwardly of said dielectric support for said axially movable conductor pin and fixed from movement relative to said outer conductor. wherein the conductor pin has axially slidable current conducting connection with said head, and

wherein spring means seated between said counterbore and said dielectric support bias said cBnductor pin outwardly of said outer conductor to have face contact with a corresponding conductor pin of an adjacent coupling half, upon the connection of two mating coupling halves together.

6. A face contact coaxial connector in accordance with claim 5, wherein the spring means is a coned disk spring seated in said counterbore and engaging said dielectric support.

UNITED STATES PATENTS References Cited 709,746 9/ 1902 Clopton. 883,225 3/1908 Niederlander 33948 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,033,752 7/1958 Germany. 1,048,956 11/1966 Great Britain.

MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner P. A. CLIFFORD, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 339-177 

